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Algebra Difficulty 6.6 National olympiad Find the answer

Let PP be a polynomial with real coefficients. Find all functions f:RRf : \mathbb{R} \rightarrow \mathbb{R} such that there exists a real number tt such that
f(x+t)f(x)=P(x)f(x+t) - f(x) = P(x)
for all xRx \in \mathbb{R}.

A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.

Solution

1. Initial Setup:
Given the functional equation:
f(x+t)f(x)=P(x) f(x+t) - f(x) = P(x)
for all xR x \in \mathbb{R} , where P(x) P(x) is a polynomial with real coefficients and t t is a fixed real number.

2. Base Case:
Define f(x) f(x) on the interval [0,t)[0, t) arbitrarily. Let f(x) f(x) be any function on this interval.

3. Inductive Step:
Use the given functional equation to extend f(x) f(x) to the entire real line. For x[0,t) x \in [0, t) , define:
f(x+t)=f(x)+P(x) f(x + t) = f(x) + P(x)
This extends f(x) f(x) to the interval [t,2t)[t, 2t).

4. Further Extension:
Continue this process iteratively. For x[kt,(k+1)t) x \in [kt, (k+1)t) where k k is an integer, define:
f(x+t)=f(x)+P(x) f(x + t) = f(x) + P(x)
This extends f(x) f(x) to the interval [(k+1)t,(k+2)t)[(k+1)t, (k+2)t).

5. Negative Direction:
Similarly, for x[0,t) x \in [0, t) , define:
f(xt)=f(x)P(xt) f(x - t) = f(x) - P(x - t)
This extends f(x) f(x) to the interval [t,0)[-t, 0).

6. General Form:
By induction, for any integer k k , we have:
f(x+kt)=f(x)+i=0k1P(x+it) f(x + kt) = f(x) + \sum_{i=0}^{k-1} P(x + it)
and for negative k k :
f(x+kt)=f(x)+i=k1P(x+it) f(x + kt) = f(x) + \sum_{i=k}^{-1} P(x + it)

7. Conclusion:
The function f(x) f(x) can be constructed piecewise using the given functional equation. The general solution is:
f(x)=g(x)+i=0xt1P(xit) f(x) = g(x) + \sum_{i=0}^{\left\lfloor \frac{x}{t} \right\rfloor - 1} P(x - it)
where g(x) g(x) is any function defined on the interval [0,t)[0, t).

The final answer is f(x)=g(x)+i=0xt1P(xit) \boxed{ f(x) = g(x) + \sum_{i=0}^{\left\lfloor \frac{x}{t} \right\rfloor - 1} P(x - it) } where g(x) g(x) is any function defined on the interval [0,t)[0, t).

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Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.